June 09, 2005

Customer Service

Good customer service is a key element of running a business, though it sometimes takes a little faith to understand just how crucial it is.

We work very hard at Pixeltrip to get back to customers -- and potential customers -- quickly and with meaningful responses. It doesn't always reap the reward of a big sale (or any sale), but we're convinced it's the way to run a good business (it also makes us feel needed!).

But I'm a worrier by nature and I often wonder, when someone emails a query, whether our taking an hour or two to respond with the needed info might prompt someone to go elsewhere. It may be.

But I had no idea how bad the state of customer service has really gotten (in this post-NASDAQ-bubble millennium). This, it seems, is what many people are accustomed to:

"The fact that 51 percent of North American small and medium-sized businesses are simply ignoring e-mails from high-value buyers is shocking," he [researcher, Dr. Jon Anton] said. "Our study serves as a wakeup call to the majority of North American companies who are losing business due to poor online service."

So, what's considered an acceptable turnaround time for responding to a customer's message?

"Too many companies are not responding within the 24 hour window that best practices mandate," he said.

Well I guess we're doing OK then. But it's a bad idea to get complacent. I know that when I'm searching online for a product or service that will help me out of a jam, 24 hours can seem like an eternity to wait for a response -- so can an hour. So we have no plans to loosen our standards.

How does your business rate in this department? If you've been letting this slide, you might want to rethink. It would appear to be a fairly easy way to get an edge on 51 percent of the competition.

Posted by Jeremy at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

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June 08, 2005

Holographic Security Labels

I promise you I'm not being paid for this post. But I think these are incredibly nifty items and we don't presently have the capacity to offer them here at Pixeltrip, so I thought you'd like to know about these folks. They make holographic labels (like the ones on credit cards, warranty seals on electronic products, etc.)

The company's called NovaVision. Here are some pretty pictures:

Cool, huh?

Posted by Jeremy at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

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June 02, 2005

Bumper Sticker Self Defense

What do you mean you don't need bumper stickers? Here's a story from the New York Times that will change your mind:

En route to my rental car in the Ralphs parking lot, I had to suddenly dodge an Infiniti being backed out of a space by a beautiful young blonde. I was ready to apply some New York-style attitude till I spotted a sticker on her bumper that said: "But . . . But. . . But. . . I'm the Princess!" Dog-tired as I was, that struck me as wildly hilarious. The woman, clearly pleased that some middle-aged geezer appreciated her bumper-sticker irony, smiled those startlingly white teeth at me, lowered her window, and said: "Wow, I'm really sorry I almost ran you over?" (You know, with that question mark they put at the end of declarative sentences in Southern California?) I returned the smile and waved her out with a Elizabethan courtier's sweep of the hand.

Can you afford not to order bumper stickers?

Posted by Jeremy at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)

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